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Now that summer is almost upon us, many people are stepping up the intensity of their workouts and cutting out the fatty foods from their diets to make sure they look their best. To help you build a body that looks good on the beach, here are answers to your five most frequently asked questions about how to lose fat quickly and easily.

1. When is the best time to train? If you want to lose fat, the best time to train is first thing in the morning before eating. This helps to increase your metabolic rate over the course of the day, as well as increasing natural growth hormone levels needed for keeping lean. What's more, if you eat before exercise, you reduce the amount of fat used for fuel. In fact, a recent study showed that carbohydrate consumed before exercise leads to a 34% reduction in the number of fat calories used during exercise. To avoid dehydration, drink water, but avoid high calorie, high sugar energy drinks before your exercise. Instead take it afterwards to help you recover fully.

2. What's the best routine to follow? Effective fat burning routines involve a combination of intense aerobic exercise and weight training. To maximise growth hormone release during exercise (growth hormone is your own natural fat burning hormone), studies show that you should keep your rest between sets down to a minimum (60-90 seconds), and perform between 8-12 reps per set. Supersets, where you move straight from one exercise to another, are another good way to raise your growth hormone levels. Whatever you do, don't waste your time with marathon cardio workouts on the bike lasting 90 minutes or more. This is guaranteed to burn lots of muscle! Short, but intense workouts lasting 30-45 minutes are far more effective, and also help to keep you motivated because you know that you don't have to waste hours in the gym. Visit: www.musclebulletin.com/training to help choose a routine and see how to do the exercises.

3. What should I eat? The key to losing fat is to get your diet right. No amount of exercise can make up for a poor diet that contains too little protein and excessive amounts of junk food. Eat small meals often throughout the day. Eating every 3-4 hours helps to keep your blood sugar levels steady, provides your muscles with a steady stream of nutrients and helps to keep your appetite under control. Eat protein with each meal.

Regular protein intake is a vital part of any fat loss programme - it increases the metabolic rate, satisfies the appetite and preserves muscle mass. Studies have shown that high protein diets are almost twice as effective as high carbohydrate diets for promoting fat loss. Stick to a fast and easy digesting whey protein such as Promax to increase your protein intake.

Don't eat a big meal late at night A big meal eaten late at night is more likely to be stored as fat. Keep the portion size of your evening meal down to a minimum and preferably some protein. A Promax shake taken with milk to slow digestion is a popular choice.

Drink plenty of water Not only does water help to satisfy your appetite, it also prevents dehydration. Because dehydration puts the brakes on fat loss, drinking 2-3 litres of water each day is vital. Adding a bit of orange squash can make this quite easy.

4. How do I know if I'm losing fat, and not muscle? Your body is made up of different types of tissue, such as fat, bone, and muscle. When most people say they want to lose weight, what they really want is to lose fat without losing muscle. Unfortunately, relying on the scales to judge the effectiveness of your weight loss programme doesn't tell the whole story, as the scales don’t show you whether the weight you’re losing comes from fat or muscle. In dieting men, for example, three lbs out of every 10 lost comes from muscle rather than fat.

Muscle is a more “active” tissue than fat. In other words, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn during the day. Many health clubs and personal trainers use various devices that measure your body fat. Body fat scales, made by Tanita (in most stores), are one of the most effective ways to measure whether you're losing fat or muscle. When you stand on them, they send a low-level electrical current through your body. Because muscle contains more water than fat, it conducts electricity at a different rate. The unit then uses this information to estimate how much body fat you have. This is far better than using scales alone to measure your progress, and allows you to know when to make small adjustments to your diet and exercise programme if it isn't working.

5. How do I stay consistent with my diet? Consistency is important if you want to shed stubborn body fat. One of the best ways to make sure you have a dependable source of nutritious food is to use a high protein meal replacement, such as Promax-meal sachets or bars, (Instead of relying on the snack machine at work!) This is because they provide consistent calories and the macro nutrients your body needs, without the guess work or searching for it at fast food restaurants. Researchers from the University of Nevada have shown the valuable role that high protein meal replacements play in losing weight. During the first year of the study, subjects using meal replacements were able to lose weight just as well as those receiving guidance from a dietician. After two years, results in the group using meal replacements were even more impressive. Subjects working with a dietician had lost 1.5% of their bodyweight. In contrast, those who had been using meal replacements lost 3% of their bodyweight. The greatest results were seen in subjects who combined the two treatments. Women given both high protein meal replacements and sensible nutrition advice from a dietitian lost 8% of their bodyweight.

High protein Meal replacements, like Promax-Meal are so effective because they provide an easy, convenient way to get all the protein, carbohydrate, and healthy fats you need without the excess calories and sugar in a simple sachet or bar - without the guess work or searching for it at fast food restaurants.. Each Promax-Meal bar, for example, contains more high quality lean protein (22 grams) than you’ll find in an average chicken breast, together with the same kind of special healthy fats you’ll find in fish such as salmon or mackerel. Taking a Promax-meal sachet, one at breakfast or lunch can help you eat better and achieve your weight loss goals more easily. It's up to you now. You have the nutrition tips and tools to transform your physique in time for the beach this summer. Just follow them and you'll have the body you want.